Quotes of the Day Archive

"I quit the Knicks so I know what quitting is, I did. I quit. And it's something I regret to this day. I live with it every day and I regret it. And I let my emotions come into it. And I was just emotionally spent. I made a bad decision and I quit."

-- Jeff Van Gundy

"My first job in journalism was as a part-time writer for the New Bedford Standard-Times. As a reward for taking phone calls and covering high school swim meets, I got to cover a Red Sox game. They lost, as they often did in those days, and I asked manager John McNamara why he didn’t use Dwight Evans as a pinch hitter. McNamara asked where I was from, then told me to get the (bad word) out of his office. Being a kid, I walked out."

-- Peter Abraham

"If you're worried about this game or that game, that one game that'll make your demo CD stand on its end, then you're trying too hard and you'll change your approach. I've learned to enjoy the moments as they come. If I love what I do and continue to do it, then hopefully that reward will be there."

-- Neil Solondz

"You have to realize that the game is played by people and not by robots. You have to try to get across in the broadcast the difference in personalities of these players, and that's part of the fun, of course, being in a position where you can pass along that knowledge because you represent the fan."

-- Martin Tyler

"What I think is important to know for anyone in this business is [that] people sort of view you in a static state. For me anyway, you want to be continuously challenged. Professionally, you don't want to coast into the sunset. I am 50. I have a lot more to do and there are other things I want to do that I have not done."

-- Chris Fowler

"I consider what I do on Deadspin to be based in the foundations of journalism, yes, based on the foundations of journalism that I have been trained and that I certainly use when I write for GQ and The New York Times and so on. Certainly, I think the language can be a little looser on the web, but I am held to the same standards and accuracy everyone else is."

-- Will Leitch

"Play-by-play was my first love. I was an eight year old boy with a tape recorder—I think it was a fake one, it didn’t even have batteries in it—pretending to broadcast whatever game, so that was my first love."

-- Tony Reali

"You might not believe it, but there are times when I feel the TV and radio shows demand more of me than those Sunday afternoon games."

-- Boomer Esiason

"Every team isn't interested in the Super Bowl. You have 30 [other] teams with all their fans. The draft process affects all 32 teams. If you want to get to the Super Bowl, these are the days to do it."

-- Mel Kiper Jr.

"In radio, they say, nothing happens until the announcer says it happens."

-- Ernie Harwell

"The way the game is covered has changed just as much as the way the game is played on the ice. The coverage is more in depth. Back when I was playing, [broadcasting from in between the benches] would be unheard of. It just wouldn't happen."

-- Brian Engblom

"Play-by-play is in my blood and I would rather call a game than sit in the stands and watch it."

-- Fred McLeod

"I still tell my wife every year, 'Don't spend any money you think I'm going to make this coming year, because I am fully capable of saying something that can end my career at a moment."

-- Cris Collinsworth

"The Wolves really thought outside the box from a broadcast standpoint. There were many, many, many mornings when I would wake up and say, 'What did we do? What did we say? I’m going to lose my job. What will I tell my wife?' We’d make up fictional characters, dogs unearthing tapes of old Minneapolis Lakers games, all kinds of stuff. But then they got Garnett and they got good … and it became a serious business. We had fun, but it was a different kind of fun."

-- Kevin Harlan

"Then I got into television. I remember they all wore blue jackets. I said, 'I don't have to wear one of those jackets.' So I got into the plaid and everything else. Now I go out and get drapery and everything. I think the kids get a big kick out of it too."

-- Don Cherry

"[The] most exciting fight I have called on HBO was the first meeting between Arturo Gatti and Micky Ward. When I stood up to do the post-fight on camera, my stomach muscles were tight and sore from the tension of watching them take their lives into their hands and trade shots."

-- Jim Lampley

"I’ve had so many amazing experiences covering sports, and I pray that I have many more, but I think that it’s so important to enjoy that ride. And being here has really taught me that it’s also about being happy."

-- Lindsay Czarniak

"People go, 'Hey, did you do anything special for the Super Bowl?' Well no, I like to think I do the same amount of work every week getting ready for a game."

-- Phil Simms

"I tell everybody who wants to get into this business that preparation is the number one thing."

-- Kenny Albert

"Learn how to write and communicate, don’t be dependent on a teleprompter, learn how to tell stories, be concise and don’t try to impress people with seven-syllable words. Speak to the folks."